If the tenant does not receive 100% of what they bargained for in renting their apartment, a tenant (current or former) can file a T2 application against their Ontario residential landlord claiming money damages up to $25,000.00, as well as other remedies.
This is one of most common tenant applications that a landlord may have to defend.
The T2 application is also called an Application Concerning Tenant’s Rights. It is filed with the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board. Section 29(1) sub-paragraphs 2 to 6 of Ontario Residential Tenancies Act sets out the grounds that a tenant or a former tenant can file an Application Concerning Tenant’s Rights. The grounds include the landlord, superintendent or agent has:
- withheld or deliberately interfered with the reasonable supply of any vital service, that it is the landlord’s obligation to provide
- substantially interfered with the reasonable enjoyment of the apartment or residential complex by the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household
- harassed, obstructed, coerced, threatened or interfered with the tenant during the tenant’s occupancy of the apartment
- has altered the locking system to the apartment or residential complex during the tenant’s occupancy of the apartment without giving the tenant replacement keys
- illegally entered the apartment
If the tenant proves the landlord did any of the above, the Residential Tenancies Act allows the Landlord and Tenant Board to order the landlord:
- to stop the activity
- to pay money to the tenant to repair or replace an item that landlord damaged
- to pay reasonable out of pocket expenses of the tenant
- to pay an abatement of rent
- to pay a fine to the board
- to terminate the tenancy
- to make any other order the Board considers appropriate
If the landlord has interfered with the tenant’s reasonable enjoyment of the apartment, and the Board agrees, then the landlord would be ordered to pay an abatement to the tenant. (A percentage of the rent returned to the tenant.) For example, if a problem persisted for three months, the Board may order the landlord to pay the tenant 25% of the monthly rent times three months to compensate the tenant for their loss of enjoyment.
The order will usually state if the money is not paid by a certain date, than the tenant may deduct the abatement from the monthly rent.
If the tenant was induced by the conduct of the landlord to vacate the apartment, the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board may also order the landlord to pay the subsequent increased rental expenses that the tenant will or has to incur for a one-year period after the tenant left the apartment. The Board may also order reimbursement for moving and storage expenses.
Paralegal Representation
Our office receives calls from small landlords, and commercial real estate investors, who self-represented themselves and lost their case involving an Application Concerning Tenant’s Rights. Sometimes these small landlords don’t even understand why they lost. Often, they mistakenly thought defending a T2 application is simple, and would not require the skill of a paralegal. They learned the hard way that a skilled Toronto paralegal can make all the difference.
If you are a landlord needing to defend a T2 application in Toronto or the GTA you need to hire an experienced, licensed, Ontario paralegal. Contact Marshall Yarmus of Civil Litigations at 416-229-1479 or visit https://civilparalegal.com/home_services/landlord-and-tenant-board/
You can rely on his 23 years of experience.